CaoimhínSF wrote:
ceann
i gcionn [i gceann] -- at the end of
os cionn -- above
thar cionn -- excellent
cionn is go -- because
Cionn tSáile -- Kinsale
ciall
rud a chur i gcéill -- to make something clear
cian
céin a bhí anam ann -- while there was life in him
i gcéin is i congar -- far and near
ó chianaibh -- a while ago
cos
faoi chois -- underfoot
cois -- along
i gcois -- beside
de chois -- at the foot of
lena cois -- beside her
lena chois sin -- besides that
crann
chuir siad ar chrannaibh é -- they drew lots
lámh
as láimh -- immediately
mall
ar na mallaibh -- of late
uair
ar uairibh -- at times / occasionally
These are also set phrases, whereby the dative forms remain petrified, rather than being used independently. To these you can add
i ndáiríribh and
i(na) (g)c(h)oinnibh, and others.
silmeth wrote:
beannachtaibh (hence I’d guess also Gaeltachtaibh, or in old spelling Gaedhealtachtaibh, although I cannot find any examples… I guess the usage of Gaeltacht in plural is too modern an invention)
The dative plural is Gaeltachta
íbh, and beannachtaíbh is also a variant form.
silmeth wrote:
Not sure how alive it is today (I’d guess it’s pretty much dead because of the lack of the form Gaeltachtaibh anywhere), but Peadar Ua Laoghaire, at the beginning of 20th century used dat.pl. regularly, I think for all the nouns.
The dative plural can be still heard in Munster (particularly Cork), but no where near as common as Peadar Ó Laoighaire's usage. Even Peadar Ua Laoghaire's usage in his own day was seen as somewhat archaic, as speakers would often comment how Peadar's Irish would remind them of the Irish of their parents and grandparents.
The strict usage of the dative plural/ singular began to die out in Munster following the famine, and began to pick up pace after 1880s.
The best speakers of Munster Irish largely retained the dative singular and plural, however, as can be seen by listening to the Munster speakers on Doegen, and by reading the folklore literature, especially from Cork.
As the dative plural began to die in Munster, the same phenomenon that occurred in Connacht-as you have already mentioned--of the dative plural termination spreading to the nominative plural also occurred; especially in East Cork and Kerry. Hence, why you'll find fearaibh and ceannaibh as alternative nominative plurals.
The dative singular still remains to a certain extent in Munster also, especially with words ending in a nasal genitive: teanga (dat. teagain), guala (dat. gualainn), bó (dat. boin); and with words like fuinneog (dat. fuinneoig) and cloch (dat. cloich). The dative features less so with words like talamh (dat. talúin/ talamh). The masculine dative doesn't survive except with lá (dat. ló: insa ló, don ló) [also survives in Connacht] and with set, prepositional phrases using cionn (as it does everywhere else). Even in the case of the survival of ló, this may also be the result of formulaic set phrasing, as insa ló really means 'daily': ocht (n-)euro insa ló 'eight euros a day/ daily; and don ló, is really part of the phrase: don ló amáireach 'tomorrow': e.g. cad athá ar siúl agat 'what are you doing (for the day) tomorrow'.
Again, like the other dialects, the dative singular feminine has largely replaced the nominative. Even in the case of lámh, cos, cluas, bos, and bróg, the dative form can also be used as the nominative: i.e. láimh, cois, cluais, bois, and bróig.
Personally, I always always use the dative, both plural and singular.
silmeth wrote:
Also, many Connacht plurals (all of the -annaí ones) come from dat.pl. – they pronounced the -aibh ending as -aí
The lengthening of the -í is caused by the devoicing of the lenited -b, a process known as compensatory lengthening.
Old Irish: scélaigecht /sc'e:lig'əxt/ --> scéalaigheacht /s'ce:liɣəxt/--> scéalaíocht /s'ce:li:əxt/
Cian
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(Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin)
Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice
I'm familiar with Munster Irish/ Gaolainn na Mumhan (GM) and the Official Standard/an Caighdeán Oifigiúil (CO)